COURTESY CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART
James Rosenquist, 1933-2017
The Pop Art giant James Rosenquist died Friday after a long illness. Here’s Andrew Russeth’s obituary. [ARTnews]
Jerry Saltz contributed a remembrance as well, saying that Rosenquist “extended art into the hyperspace of culture and brought more of the culture into art.” [New York magazine]
And Vogue writer Mark Guiducci shared a particularly delightful memory about visiting Rosenquist at his Tribeca home. When you went to go to buzz in downstairs, a note on the buzzer read “RING ANY BELL.” “Isn’t that fun?” Rosenquist said. “I own the whole building!” [Instagram]
The NEA Debate
The question of whether President Trump will succeed in defunding the National Endowment for the Arts is a looming threat to local cultural programming. One editorial explains how it would be disastrous for Denver’s arts institutions. [The Denver Post]
Here, Andrea King Collier says that defunding the NEA won’t necessarily affect black artists, because they receive so little funding as is. [NBC News]
And this op-ed has a puzzling argument advocating for the NEA’s abolition. [The Hill]
Museums Around the World
Robin Pogrebin has revealed more juicy tidbits about the shocking departure of the Met’s director, Thomas Campbell. Apparently, one of the reasons for his ouster was a long-running affair he had with a member of the museum’s digital team, resulting in the digital chief to leave her post. [The New York Times]
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is undergoing renovations, but it won’t completely shut down. The facelift should be done by 2020. [Lancaster Online]
But in Paris, strikes kept the Centre Pompidou closed through the weekend. [France 24]
Can a museum accurately estimate what percentage of its holdings are fakes? [Salon]
Fairs, Auctions
The Dallas Art Fair opens this week in the burgeoning collector powerhouse, where—despite an overall market correction—the local art market is another thing that’s bigger in Texas. “In Dallas, this decline is not having an impact,” art advisor John Runyon said. [The Dallas Morning News]
Speaking of things looking up, Christie’s has acquired the Emily and Jerry Spiegel estate for its May postwar and contemporary sales, adding a $20 million Sigmar Polke and a $20 million Christopher Wool to an already stacked sale. The estate is guaranteed and has a low estimate of $100 million. [Art Market Monitor]
A Ferrari once owned by Donald Trump failed to reach its low estimate during an auction in Florida. Sad! [Bloomberg]
April Fool’s Day
The Instagram account for Gavin Brown’s Enterprise announced a very cheesy #rebranding for the gallery on Saturday. GBE will henceforth stand for “Gavin Brown’s Enchilada.” A picture of some enchiladas accompanied the post. [Instagram]
Despite what an announcement on Friday said, the Carnegie Museum of Art will not be partnering with Sarris Candies to sell a chocolate shaped like Giacometti’s Walking Man called a “Chocometti.” [The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
The Philadelphia Museum of Art opened a exhibition on April Fool’s Day that featured that original art world prank, Duchamp’s Fountain. [Newsworks]
Arts Education
The Santa Fe University of Art will no longer be accepting students. [U.S. News & World Report]
A look into the arts classes in a California jail. [The New York Times]
Etc.
Calvin Tompkins has a long profile of Dana Schutz in The New Yorker entitled “Why Dana Schutz Painted Emmett Till.” [The New Yorker]
“Manhattan Hawk Population is Soaring.” [The Wall Street Journal]